Wasted Time
by WerewolvesAndWalkers
Summary: Kyoya's free time is disturbed by Tamaki - as it usually is - but today's requests are different. There are no ridiculous parties or schemes. Tamaki wants to leave the country and return to France to visit his mother. [TamakixKyoya]


**Hey guys! So I'm really, really into Ouran High School Host Club at the moment, and I'm pretty sure a lot of other people are too. I know that shipping in this fandom can get kind of mean sometimes, so firstly, I'd like to say that I DO ship TamaHaru very much, but I no multichapter fics come to mind for them at the moment. I also like TamaKyo, so I hope there are other people who do too, because I worked really hard on this. And also, I'll apologize for spelling; I'm just using the spelling of the characters' names that came from my manga. I checked and double-checked to make sure they were right according to the manga. Okay, I'll stop talking. Enjoy! Read, review, favorite please.**

Kyoya really hated going to sleep at night because he always felt like it was a waste of time. He knew that sleeping was necessary because human bodies were weak and needed rest every once in a while, and actually, he enjoyed his rest more than the son of a prosperous businessman probably should, but he hated actually getting in bed and falling asleep. All he could imagine was that it was a waste of time because he could certainly guarantee that at two in the morning (which is when he usually made it to his bed), his father was in his office working and making money and actually contributing to society. It was possible that his older brothers were in their rooms on their computers contributing to something. And Kyoya was lying in bed trying to sleep so that he could go to school and waste more time, according to his father.

And the thoughts of wasted time never quite left his mind even after his eyes drooped and his body slunk into a light slumber because his mind was still continuously racing, which is why it never felt like he was actually getting any rest. Wasted time. His mind was always filled with his father, telling him that he was still young, but he wouldn't be young forever, and shouldn't he be using what little time he had just a little more wisely than he was using it now? His dad was always yelling in his mind. Either that, or he was being quiet and cold, which was just a little bit more terrifying. And Kyoya would always wake feeling like he could have been doing something more worthwhile than what he had been doing. Maybe if he had stayed up just another hour, he could have accomplished something. Maybe he could do something that would make his father proud of him.

It was hard not to blame Tamaki Suoh for his wasted time, because Tamaki had been the one who had come up with the ridiculous idea to start the host club, and he was the one who consumed most of Kyoya's time, no matter how many times Kyoya tried to escape from it. It's not as if he _wanted_ to spend all of his free time with Tamaki, but it just so happened that Tamaki, without Kyoya's consent, had claimed him as best friend and had decided to weasel his way into Kyoya's life and into his mind, so that everything Kyoya did in his spare time was for Tamaki and the host club.

Really, he didn't want Tamaki to take over his life the way he had. He hadn't asked for a friend or an ally or whatever it is they were. Kyoya couldn't exactly describe his relationship with Tamaki. He didn't know what to consider him. But he knew that Tamaki had somehow simultaneously ruined his life and made it better. It was a very confusing notion that Kyoya didn't like to spend a lot of time dwelling on but dwelled on it anyway because for some reason, Tamaki never really left his mind and that pissed him off to no end.

But the wasted time. God, he could be doing so much with his time, and yet, he did whatever Tamaki wanted to do, whatever the host club wanted to do. But mostly Tamaki. And he couldn't understand why he couldn't just walk away from them and do his own thing, somehow surpass his brothers so that he could take over the family business and become a great man. But no. That is not at all how it was going to be, ever. And he didn't understand.

Today was no different. It was a Friday, six in the morning, which is usually when Kyoya's maid wandered into his room and shook him from his sleep. He always swatted her hand away and begged for five more minutes, and she would always say in her sweet voice, "No, Master Kyoya. You have to wake up. Your father wants to have breakfast with you before he leaves. And you have to get ready for school."

And it was the same today. Sazama, the maid, knocked twice on the door, walked in, and shook Kyoya lightly before whispering, "Wake up, Master Kyoya. It's time to get ready."

And Kyoya muttered, "Five more minutes, Sazama."

And she said, "No, Master Kyoya. You have to wake up. Your father wants to have breakfast with you before he leaves. And you have to get ready for school."

And Kyoya groaned and grumbled and muttered curses under his breath before finally rolling out of bed and glaring at Sazama (only because he was tired) and grabbing his glasses off the nightstand. She giggled at him and then left the room, and he rolled his eyes and grumbled some more.

He made his way to the bathroom, where two more maids were finishing drawing him up a bath, and though he was accustomed to stripping down in front of them, today he wasn't exactly in the mood for their ridiculous, girlish giggling, so he waited for them to leave before taking off his clothes and climbing into the bath.

Somehow he managed to fall asleep in the bath, and the maids made their way back into the bathroom chattering quite loudly and rousing him from his nap and forcing him out of the bath and bringing him clothes, all the while telling him that his father was waiting on him and he had to get ready for school.

For the most part, Kyoya's life was strange, especially since he had agreed to join the host club. But his mornings were mostly normal until he got to school. He always expected to have at least a few hours of peace and quiet before having to deal with ridiculously loud and obnoxious people for the entirety of his day.

But today turned out to be different. Kyoya was in his room getting dressed in his uniform and gathering all of his things for school and letting his thoughts be consumed by Tamaki and what ridiculous ideas he would come up with today when Sazama knocked at his door again and said, "Master Kyoya? I came to tell you that-"

"Yes, Sazama. I know that my father is waiting on me. I'll be down in a moment."

"Well, yes. But there is someone at the door for you. It's your extremely attractive friend. You know, the one with the gorgeous blue eyes. I just think he's so cute!" She stopped gushing and looked at Kyoya with wide eyes, as if she was embarrassed or something. "Forgive me, sir. I didn't mean to behave that way. I never learned his name. But you do know which one I'm talking about?"

"There's no need to apologize, Sazama. It seems that everyone likes to look at Tamaki. You shouldn't be embarrassed."

"Including you, sir?"

Kyoya stopped shoving things in his pack and turned his face slightly to look at the young woman, who immediately gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. His eyes narrowed into a glare, and he thought of several very interesting and foul things that he could say to her but didn't say them because there was absolutely no point in doing so. The simple question sent a burning fury racing through his veins and he had the urge to punch a wall but squeezed his hand into a fist to calm down instead of lashing out.

Because she was absolutely right, and it pissed him off so badly that he couldn't stand it.

"I'm so, so sorry. That just slipped out, Master Kyoya. I should not have asked you that. I've overstepped my boundaries. Please don't hold this against me. I didn't mean to. It's none of my business, really-"

"You're right," Kyoya said, letting the anger seep out just a little as he grabbed his things and pushed past Sazama, "it's not."

He made his way down the stairs, still feeling incredibly irritated, not only at Sazama for what she had said but also at Tamaki for showing up at his house at seven in the morning without any warning and ruining his peace and quiet. And also at himself because deep down, he wasn't really irritated at Tamaki at all. He wondered what the idiot could possibly want this early in the morning and why he couldn't just wait another hour until school started, but he was absolutely certain that what it was could not possibly be important.

He expected to find Tamaki still standing at the door or standing in the foyer waiting on him, but to his surprise, the boy was in the smaller, family-sized dining hall sitting next to his father and across from his two brothers at the table and sipping green tea.

"Kyoya," his father said with a very curt nod, which Kyoya returned as he sat down next to Tamaki at the table. "I was just speaking to your friend about his future. It seems that he's got many great plans, while you seem to have none."

Kyoya cast a glance in Tamaki's direction and resisted an eye roll that would probably set his father into a long discussion about attitude and being polite and whatever else his father could find wrong with him. As far as he knew, Tamaki didn't have any plans for his future. But then again, he didn't really know Tamaki all that well, despite being his "best friend."

"Good morning, Kyoya," Tamaki said with a polite smile. "I hope you don't mind my intruding on you this morning. I wouldn't have come if it hadn't been absolutely necessary."

Kyoya stared at him blankly, unsure of what to say. Tamaki was being too proper in front of his family, and he didn't like it at all. And his dad was pretending like he wasn't a complete ass just because Tamaki was here. He didn't like any of this.

And he didn't like how the maids were flitting about and actually being helpful and considerate this morning just because Tamaki was here. They were only doing it because they wanted to catch a glimpse of him, to serve him like he was some sort of king and maybe accidentally brush hands with him or, if they were lucky, get him to speak to them. And speak to them he did. He complimented each and every one of them differently, but in an equally charming way, which sent them into a fit of giggles as they hurried about helping the other members of Kyoya's family.

After all that nonsense was over and the servants had left the room, Kyoya spoke. "I'm sure it's necessary. But could you not have waited just another hour before school started?"

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about," Tamaki said, and then, turning to Kyoya's father, asked, "Sir, do you mind if Kyoya and I speak in private for a moment? It won't be long."

Kyoya's father did not look pleased about it, and in fact, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at the blonde, but he nodded a little and said, "Of course. My sons and I have to leave for work anyway." Then, to Kyoya, he said, "Perhaps you shouldn't take so long getting ready in the mornings. We could possibly have breakfast tomorrow if I have time. And speaking of time, don't waste yours. There are only twenty-four hours in a day, Kyoya."

And then he and Kyoya's brothers exited the room, with Mr. Ohtori saying, "It was a pleasure speaking with your this morning, Tamaki Suoh. Do come and visit more often."

Unbelievable. His father only wanted Tamaki around for business purposes. That much Kyoya knew. But the way he could say things to Kyoya so passive-aggressively like that…and the way Tamaki could act so properly when in reality he was a complete dolt. Absolutely unbelievable.

"Your dad seems nice," Tamaki said, still much too proper for Kyoya's liking.

"Yes, I suppose," Kyoya replied. This isn't how their conversations usually went. It was usually Tamaki blabbering about something for twenty minutes, with Kyoya supplying a bit of knowledge every once in a while and seething in his frustration. "If you consider an overbearing, aggressive, selfish, strict father nice."

"I'm sure he's not truly nice behind closed doors, especially to you," Tamaki said, "because you're the youngest son. He's going to be tough on you. But he just seems nice. It doesn't mean that he is."

Kyoya's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Tamaki was acting strangely this morning. He had never seen the boy so…so quiet. So thoughtful. He was always so loud and boisterous and completely foolish.

"There was a reason you came over here, correct?" he asked.

And then Tamaki's head shot up so fast that it almost startled Kyoya from his seat. Almost. He didn't scare easily, and he was more coordinated than that. Tamaki grinned, and his eyes lit up with so much joy. So much joy. Kyoya didn't understand how one person could be that happy, especially after all of the things that Tamaki had been through. And that was just everything that Kyoya knew about him, which wasn't much.

He was looking at Kyoya like he had just noticed him sitting there, and he suddenly lunged at the dark-haired boy and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug while pressing his cheek against Kyoya's and saying, "Kyoya! Mon ami! My best friend! I'm so glad we met! It's one of the best things that's ever happened to me!" And Kyoya could do nothing but grumble curses under his breath and try to wriggle out of the boy's grip, but to no avail. He was accustomed to this. For someone who never worked out, Tamaki was surprisingly strong, so fighting was no use. He always just had to wait for Tamaki to come down off of his high.

Which, this morning, unnecessarily, took ten minutes. The servants came in with more food for them, and Tamaki still just sat there fawning over Kyoya and reminiscing on their lives together so much that he almost ended up in Kyoya's lap and the servants just sat there giggling like mad about how cute they were. And that was when Kyoya had to put a stop to it.

"Alright! You had something you wanted to talk about, Tamaki?"

"Yes."

Kyoya waited for a few seconds, but Tamaki just went about eating his breakfast with no further explanation. He had to clench his fists and take a long, deep breath before speaking again, just in case he decided he might want to punch Tamaki in the face. Even after two years of dealing with Tamaki, Kyoya was still irritated by him from time to time. Especially now, because in their two years of friendship, Tamaki had never intruded on Kyoya's morning time. So yeah, he sort of had a reason to be annoyed.

"Well?"

"Right! Yes! So we've been best friends for two years, right?"

"If that's what you want to call it…"

"And you want me to be happy, right?"

"I suppose…"

"And you would do anything for me, right, Kyoya?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I would go as far as to say-"

"Okay! So I have an idea. It's a little bit out there, and we might get into a lot of trouble and ruin our family names forever, but-"

"Wait."

That caught his attention. Tamaki had some completely insane ideas. Really, really insane, actually. But his ideas never really came with a warning, because Tamaki could never recognize the danger or the stupidity of his actions. But this time, he had been able to, and that actually worried Kyoya, because if Tamaki thought it was dangerous, and if Tamaki thought it would smear their family names, then it must be bad.

"What could you possibly come up with that would cause us to get into so much trouble that it would hurt our positions in the family? I'm not doing anything for you that would cause my father to hate me more than he already does. There is a chance that if I stay here and do as he says and work hard, then perhaps I might earn a position in his business one day. If you're suggesting that I throw that away because of some ridiculous plan, then I don't want to hear it."

And then, _and then_ , Tamaki had the nerve to reach over and take Kyoya's hand in his and look him right in the eye like he would look at someone that he was confessing his love for. He had never done this before. He had never looked so desperate. And Kyoya was stuck in between being angry at him and feeling sorry for him because, in reality, Tamaki actually had quite a broken spirit and just chose not to pay attention to it. Until now.

"Kyoya, you know I wouldn't ask something so foolish of you if it weren't for good reason," Tamaki said, letting his natural charm drip out as he stared at Kyoya with his wide, blue eyes. "You know that, right?"

"Well, you haven't exactly proven that in the past two years, have you?"

Tamaki hung his head and looked down at the ground, and he looked so small and so pitiful then that it sent a wave of sympathy crashing over Kyoya, and he hardly ever felt sorry for anyone. Tamaki had a way of doing that to people, making them feel sorry for him. Especially with Kyoya. He trusted Kyoya more than he did other people, so he let himself be a little more…real around him.

"I thought you might listen to me and understand," Tamaki said sadly. "I thought you would help me, because you're my best friend, and you made it your priority to find out all you could about me before we became friends. I thought you would get it."

"I have a hard time understanding the motives and actions of others. Especially you, Tamaki. So I can't possibly begin to understand why you would think it would be alright for you to ask me to give up my future for whatever mad ideas you have floating around in your head."

"I'm not asking you to give up your future," Tamaki said with a shake of his head and a small smile. He tightened his grip on Kyoya's hand, which sent a jolt of electricity shooting through Kyoya's body. "I'm asking you to…reevaluate your future. Do you really want to take over your father's business? Or are there more important things you feel like you should be doing?"

Kyoya's life was like a tiny, cramped box, and he was stuffed inside of it. This box was all that he had ever seen and had never really had an opportunity to look into the outside world. He could hear things moving around outside. He could see light shining in. He could sense the rest of the world going about its business. But he stayed in the box. The box was where his father kept him. The box had rules and guidelines that he could easily follow. The box gave him a sense of security for his future. The box gave him no other options for his life, and that was how he liked it, because he wouldn't have to wonder if he had made wrong decisions. Following the rules, doing what his father told him – it gave him safety.

But he was so much more than what that box allowed him to be. He wanted to see the world, to step outside of this box and see what else his life could be. Outside the box, he didn't have to play by the rules. He could be his own person. There would be no security, but at least he could make his own decisions…

That was all ridiculous though. He couldn't leave that box, and he knew that. He would work with his brothers for the rest of his life, and maybe even surpass them. And he had to work hard now for that. He had to stop thinking…well, outside the box.

So he stopped thinking about it and carefully placed himself back where he belonged. He rarely ever thought about leaving anyway. Only when Tamaki was around.

"I believe that what I should be doing is following my father's orders," Kyoya finally settled on saying. "Why? Don't you believe you should be doing the same thing? You're the only son, therefore making you the only person who can inherit your father's business. I don't believe you have any other choice."

"But I do though!" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. Again, so suddenly that it almost startled Kyoya out of his own chair. "Why would I want to take over my father's business? It's so boring! They always tell you that you have to follow your parents' wishes, but that's not true! I don't have to listen to anyone!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at him and returned to his breakfast. "Is there a purpose for this conversation?"

"Yes!" Tamaki shouted, grabbing Kyoya's shoulders and shaking him so violently that he spat some of his tea out. It didn't seem to bother Tamaki, though. "My point is that it's been two years since I've seen my mother, and I know I've been forbidden to see her ever again, but I don't care. I miss her, and I want to see her again. I don't think I care about anything anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous. Your problem is that you care far too much."

"Maybe. I care far too much for my mother, not my grandmother. And not myself. I want to see her."

Kyoya turned to face him again and scanned his face for any sort of sign that he might be joking, but there was nothing. This was the most serious that he had ever seen the boy. It didn't fit him.

"And you've come to me because you want me to somehow cover your tracks and keep your whereabouts a secret until you return?"

"Of course I know you _could_ do that for me because you're extremely talented that way," Tamaki said with a sly smirk, almost the way he toyed with some of the girls at host club, which made Kyoya slightly uncomfortable, "but that's not what I'm asking. I want you to come with me!"

"Absolutely not."

There was no debate to it. It was final. Of all the ridiculous, dim-witted ideas that Tamaki Suoh came up with, this one was the worst by far.

"Come on! It'll be fun! Have you ever been to France before? I'm sure you'll love it!"

"I've been to France before. And no, I don't like it. I have no desire to go again. I'm going to stay here and focus on my studies and working with my father and building a bright future for myself. You can go off gallivanting if you wish."

"Did you just say gallivanting?"

"I did."

"Okay, but let me remind you of something," Tamaki said, sitting back down in his chair, "I am your best friend. You always say no to me at first. Always. And you might say it two hundred times more before you finally give in. But the point is, I am a weak spot for you and you always do what I want to do eventually, even if you still think it's stupid. So I'll ask you again – will you come to France with me?"

"You're a weak spot for me?" Kyoya chuckled a little, though there was not much humor behind it. "Aren't you a little arrogant?"

"I'm only speaking the truth, aren't I?"

Kyoya's eyes narrowed, and for about the tenth time that morning, the thought crossed his mind to throw Tamaki out of his house. But it was true, and they both knew it, because somehow Tamaki had managed to take over Kyoya's life and he despised it but there was no stopping it really. Still, he could deny it.

"You can ask me two hundred times or you can ask me two thousand times, but the answer will still be no."

"But I don't believe you," Tamaki said, leaning closer to Kyoya. "You have this cool and calm demeanor, but I can see right through you. You think I'm stupid and I don't pay attention to things, but I do. I know you. And I know that you'll say yes."

"I won't."

"You will though."

"You're the most foolish person I've ever met, Tamaki."

"It'll just be a weekend trip, I swear. We'll be back by Monday for class. You'll miss one day."

"I'll miss three days, which is far too long. I can't waste anymore time than I already have with your nonsense."

"We won't be wasting time. You can do business in France too. Come on! It'll be fun!"

"Why don't you get the twins to go? That seems like something that they would love to do."

"I'm going to ask them, and I'm sure they'll come. But I wanted to ask you first."

"Well, the answer is still no."

"Come on, Kyoya! For me? You know this is important to me."

"I know it is. And I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors."

"Don't you want to meet my mother? I'm sure she would love you!"

"And I'm sure I'd be charmed by her, but you'll have to introduce us over video chat or something. I'm not going."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Absolutely not."

"But-"

"What time are you planning on leaving?"

Tamaki's eyes brightened. "Does this mean you'll be coming with me?"

"No. I'm curious about your schedule."

His face fell again. "We'll be leaving in three hours. And I already have the plane tickets. For the first time in forever, we'll be on a normal plane! Not one of my family's jets!"

"Sounds delightful. I hope you all have fun."

"Kyoyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

He was clinging to the raven-haired boy again and begging like a child, sounding like he was on the verge of tears, but Kyoya knew he wasn't. Tamaki was far too overdramatic anyway.

"Go get the others. I'm sure they'll be pleased with your idea. Except for Haruhi. She'll-"

"HARUHI!" Tamaki shouted in absolute glee. "You're right. She might not want to come. And she might not be able to come. Her father might need her. Hmm…but maybe she'd like to get out of the country? I'm sure she's never really left Japan before." He shrugged. "Well, if you're sure that you don't want to come with us, I guess there's no more convincing you…"

This was something that Kyoya hated to admit, even to himself, but he absolutely despised the happiness that crossed over Tamaki whenever Haruhi was even mentioned. Of course, he adored Haruhi. She was honestly the closest thing to a perfect girl that Kyoya could imagine. However, whenever Tamaki completely lost it over her and felt like he had to be around her and protect her at all hours of the day, it absolutely drove Kyoya insane. He had never seen Tamaki behave like that toward anyone before, but the closest it had been was he. Before the host club had started up, Tamaki used to focus all of his time and energy on Kyoya and wanted nothing more than to spend time with him and talk to him and annoy the hell out of him. Now, his attention was elsewhere, which was both good and bad.

Once again, Tamaki was right. Kyoya hated the pull that ignorant fool had over him, but it was very, very difficult to say no to him. Tamaki was halfway to the door before Kyoya got up from the table and went after him.

"Listen, I'm not happy about this, but it _is_ your mother and she _is_ very sick and I do understand that you want to see her, so…perhaps I could spare just a little bit of time and help you break rules. But you have to promise me that this will _not_ ruin my relationship with my father and we _will_ be back on Monday to continue our lives."

Tamaki's face lit up so much that it almost put the sun to shame. He rushed at Kyoya and practically jumped in his arms because for some strange reason he thought that would work, and they both ended up falling to the floor. But it didn't seem to affect the blonde at all. He just wrapped his arms around Kyoya and shouted happily in Kyoya's ear over and over again while Kyoya struggled to get away.

"This is a secret. Do you understand?" Kyoya said, once he had managed to wriggle out of Tamaki's grasp. The servants had come in and saw them lying on the floor together, which had been terribly awkward and slightly embarrassing, so Kyoya was back into his bad mood. "I'll do the best I can to cover this up so my father doesn't find out. For all he knows, I'm staying at one of our health resorts. Do you understand? That means you have to keep quiet."

"Absolutely. I'll be the quietest I've ever been," Tamaki said with a small smile. "Let's go get the others then!"

"Shouldn't I pack a little?"

"No time! We have to go!"

And then Tamaki grabbed Kyoya's hand and pulled him out of the house very violently, all the while shouting at the top of his lungs, "We're going to France! We're going to France! My best friend Kyoya and I are going to France!"

So much for being quiet. They hadn't even left Kyoya's house and they were on their way to getting caught.

He didn't know what drove him to agree to this. After all, there was absolutely nothing good that could come from this. They might not even be able to make it out of the country without being dragged back to their duties as upper-class citizens. But he had to do it, because it was Tamaki, and it was Tamaki's mother, and maybe his future could be in jeopardy for just a little while so that Tamaki could have just a few moments of happiness.

Or maybe this would all just be wasted time.


End file.
